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NDP Leader Jack Layton heads to a rally in Kamloops, B.C., on April 29, 2011.Andrew Vaughan/The Canadian Press

Jack Layton, who has campaigned on promises to create a gas-price watchdog, conceded there's no guarantee that his proposed climate-change policies won't be passed on to consumers at the pumps - but argued oil companies are trying to scare Canadians about the costs.

Conservative Leader Stephen Harper claimed this week that Mr. Layton's plan to impose a cap-and-trade system on large carbon emitters would raise the price of gas by 10 cents a litre. Economists, however, estimate that pump prices would rise by 3 cents to 4 cents a litre.

Mr. Layton, in Kamloops, B.C., for a campaign rally, dismissed what he called the "various fabrications" that fly around in the late days of a campaign.

When pressed, however, he said he cannot guarantee that the costs will not be passed on to consumers.

"There's no legal way, you can't - ultimately, it's their responsibility to relate to their customers in an appropriate fashion," he said.

"What we're saying is, however, if we are moving quickly on getting higher efficiency standards for the automobiles, or moving quickly on public-transit support, we can help keep the costs of transportation down, and transform our transportation system to something that's more environmentally sound, and more affordable for Canadians."

He insisted that Canadians want oil companies to pay the costs of pollution, but the oil companies are trying to scare people.

"First of all, it's time that these companies absorbed some of the cost of their pollution. I think most people agree with that. Naturally, the big companies like Exxon, big global corporations, are going to try to scare Canadians - to say, 'If you try to do anything about pollution, we're going to make you pay.' That's exactly what they said when we dealt with the issue of acid rain and sulphur emissions."

With his high-flying support in opinion polls, Mr. Layton's opponents are turning their guns on his economic policies, insisting that he would raise taxes and the deficit.

Conservative Finance Minister Jim Flaherty called a special press conference to attack Mr. Layton and argue his policies would dent Canada's economic reputation.

Mr. Layton responded: "Are we speaking of the same Mr. Flaherty who established the record for deficits in the whole history of Canada?"

The opposition parties also jumped on a statement made by Mr. Layton in an interview with Reuters News Agency, in which said he was asked if he would like to see the Bank of Canada hold off on raising interest rates, and answered, "Yes."

It led to questions about whether Mr. Layton - if he were to be able to take power as prime minister - would interfere with the central bank's independence in setting monetary policy. Mr. Flaherty said that Mr. Layton would interfere with the Bank of Canada.

Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said Mr. Layton's comments only confirmed how reckless it would be to entrust New Democrats with power.

"This is one more reason why you can't trust Jack Layton on the economy," he told reporters at a campaign stop in the southwestern Ontario city of London.

"A responsible government does not tell Mark Carney and the Bank of Canada what to do. That's Economics 101," he said, referring to Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.

Mr. Layton insisted he would not challenge the central bank's independence, but that he crossed no line in answering a question about what kind of interest-rate action he would favour.

"I think that when you're discussing the state of the economy and you're asked your opinion about what do you think about interest levels, it's all right to offer an opinion that's in conjunction with a majority of Canadians," he said.

"But let's be crystal clear about who makes the decisions here: it is the governor of the Bank of Canada, and that's the way it should be, and that's the way it would be under any NDP administration."

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